Tom Sawyer Essay, Research Paper

Our greatest battles are (those) with our own minds is a valid quote, which can be used in analyzing the novel, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer , by Mark Twain. People are often faced with decisions where a choice must be made. Often multiple possibilities exist and a course of action must be chosen. It is not always easy to decide which way to go. The struggle within ourselves is often more troublesome than outward battles. Our heart or our mind may tell us to act one way while we really prefer to act another way. Our conscience often plays a role in the battles with our minds. Even when a decision has been made to proceed along a particular path we may still grapple over whether that choice was correct. Sometimes the initial decision is the easiest, having been made with little thought. Subsequently we regret that decision and the battle first begins. Nothing is more difficult than having the responsibility of making our own decisions and ultimately living with them.

There are several instances in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer , where battles exist within the minds of the characters. Tom and Huck see a dreadful crime in the cemetery one night. They witness a quarrel where Injun Joe stabs Dr. Robinson to death while Muff Potter is unconscious. After witnessing this scene the horror stricken boys take an oath that they will not reveal what they saw that night to anyone for fear of harm from Injun Joe. The next day Injun Joe names Muff Potter as the killer, and is taken to be tried by a jury.

Tom Sawyer is faced with the decision to reveal the murderer as being Injun Joe and not Muff Potter or to remain silent. His first inclination is the latter, to remain silent. However, over the next few days Tom becomes uncomfortable with his decision with respect to the murder. Tom feels conflict over whether to help protect his friend, Muff Potter, or to protect himself from Injun Joe. Although his choice has been made he still continues to grapple over his decision. It is clear that Tom s conscience is bothering him. This is seen by his talking in his sleep about the murder, his taking small comforts to Muff Potter in jail, and his avoidance of games, which involve murder. These actions taken by Tom are ironic. He is characterized as a free spirit willing to take adventures. The fact that Tom is concerned for another s life is an unexpected characteristic from Tom. Tom continues to be haunted throughout the book by his decision. Finally when the murder trial begins Tom becomes increasingly uneasy about his secret. Tom begins to feel guilty that an innocent man, Muff Potter, is in trouble for something he did not do. After contemplating his choices Tom decided to help Muff Potter by telling that it was Injun Joe who killed the doctor.

There is another instance where a character experiences conflict with his own mind. Tom Sawyer makes a decision to run away. This was a rather impulsive decision with little thought. He hopes that this will make the people in his town sorry for everything they had ever done to him. It is evident that Tom is at odds with this decision. Even though Tom wanted to run away, he attempts to justify his action by reminding himself that he is forsaken, friendless, and unloved. Having to justify your own decision to yourself is evidence that a struggle exists with ones own mind. It is therefore obvious that Tom was not totally comfortable with the choice he made.

Once Tom has justified his decision to run away he continues with this adventure. As the ferry boats search for Tom and his friends bodies Tom feels joy and a sense of heroism. He like the idea of being cried over and causing suffering to those who have been mean to him. However, a further struggle begins as Tom realizes the pain and grief he is causing his family. He becomes torn between remaining a runaway and returning home to ease his family s pain. His heart tells him to return while his personality begs him to stay. In the end Tom returns home. Tom s actions during this aspect of the novel are true to his childish character. Only children think in such ways and try to achieve results in such a manner.

Huck Finn, another main character in the book experiences battles with his own mind. Huck is a homeless boy who is an outcast from the town. He does what he wants when he wants without supervision. When Huck is on his own, he is both brave and resourceful, the opposite of what one would suspect from his characterization. One night he overhears plans to harm the Widow Douglass. Even though the people of the town do not welcome him, he tells them what he has heard. Huck made the decision to do the right thing in a troublesome situation. His decision is motivated for his fondness for the Widow Douglass. He does not wish to see her harmed.

Huck was torn over helping the widow because he was unwelcome in the town and the townspeople did not like him. In this situation his heart and mind told him to act the appropriate way, even though it was in contrast to his normal behavior. Usually Huck lives outside society and is uninterested in being respectable.

It is always easier to let another make and enforce our decisions. It is when we must make our own that great battles arise. Making a choice is merely one step in the battle with our mind. Following through with that choice is often the harder step. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer reveals several situations where this is true. Tom and Huck make decisions and must then live them. Battles arise as to what these decisions should be and whether to continue along the road chosen. Passion, guilt, desire and need affect the decisions we make. The mind continues to struggle and the battles continue on.